1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to an apparatus and method for performing resource property aggregation in a multi-provider system.
2. Background of the Invention
Common Information Model (CIM) Object Manager, Discovery Servers, etc., are examples of systems that handle interaction between management applications and providers. A Common Information Model (CIM) provides a data modeling environment in the form of object-like design diagrams and a language-neutral description of the model known as the Managed Object Format (MOF). A Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) proceeds through iterations in a standards body to create a layered class hierarchy that correctly represents manageable elements from a variety of areas that require management. Each management area, such as storage or applications, is represented in a CIM schema. Different management areas are worked on by different DMTF standards bodies that specialize in those areas. A core schema is structured along the same lines as the Java™ platform class hierarchy. The core schema contains classes and associations that are common to all of the management areas. For example, all elements which can be managed inherit from a class known as a CIM_ManagedElement.
A CIM Object Manager (CIMOM) is a database for instances of CIM classes. CIMOMs represent the central point for accessing management resources. The entire CIM model and standard extensions are built for further extension by hardware and software vendors. Once a CIM model and MOF definition are complete, the package is imported into a CIM object manager (CIMOM). The CIMOM provides a central repository where clients in a network can go to gather information about managed resources within the system.
While a CIMOM provides access to resources from providers, a CIMOM fails to provide access to two or more providers that support the same class of resource. A CIMOM eliminates the possibility of providing access to two or more providers that support the same class of resource by defining that only one provider can be registered to provide instances for a specific resource class. Other systems retain the instance from the first provider and eliminate those from subsequent providers. These two solutions are far from optimal. The CIMOM solution is too limiting for customers that want to leverage information from two different management systems where each management system has its own unique strengths. An example of this is two storage management systems that discover Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) disks and have different strengths regarding properties of the SCSI disk class. The solution by other systems fails to allow the administrator to decide which of the different values for the same property is preferred.